Social Media

6 people are dead following shooting near Springfield (Updated)

4/24/2013 12:00:00 AM

By Jeff Leon

Illinois authorities say they don't know why a mayor's nephew murdered five people yesterday, or why he killed himself after a car chase with police. Forty-three-year-old Rick Smith reportedly shot the victims -- a group which included two young boys -- after he allegedly barged through the back door of a home in the town of Manchester. An adult woman and two adult males were also among the dead and another six-year-old girl was treated at a nearby hospital. Smith, who is the nephew of Manchester Mayor Ron Drake, died in a hospital after engaging in a gunfight with police in the town of Winchester.